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How did you survive the wait?!

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I ordered my Model S on February 7th and I'm finally picking it up at the Fremont factory on Wednesday (!) March 9th.

tl;dr - I'm losing my mind!

With a little over 48 hours to go I can barely focus on anything. I'm googling "Tesla Model S" over and over, and I've watched basically every YouTube video of Teslas I can find.

So, how did you survive the wait? What are the best strategies for staying calm, cool, and collected in the lead up to delivery day? And what are the things that most surprised you when finally got behind the wheel of your own Model S?
 
I also read all model S things on google. also watched all videos I believe. and watched all elon musk videos. + I read his book as well... AND I haven't even ordered the S yet.. lol. I don't believe there is really anything you can do to lower the excitement.. meditation maybe. do as if there is no Tesla in existence.. lol! I would be going totally crazy if I had to wait just 48 hours.. I would clean the hell out of the garage where the S is gonna sleep and uh. yeah pretty much lose my mind. which all just shows how much we want a Tesla.. good luck on the surviving. don't forget to eat and drink :p
 
I bought a demo, but it took 3 weeks to find an enclosed trailer to transport it to my state. I spent the time cleaning and rearranging the garage. Since the Model S was quite a bit bigger than the car previously parked in that spot, it took about 2 weeks. I finished the weekend it arrived. It arrived Sunday night, instead of Monday as expected. That first drive Sunday night was sure fun!
 
I ordered my Model S on February 7th and I'm finally picking it up at the Fremont factory on Wednesday (!) March 9th.

tl;dr - I'm losing my mind!

With a little over 48 hours to go I can barely focus on anything. I'm googling "Tesla Model S" over and over, and I've watched basically every YouTube video of Teslas I can find.

So, how did you survive the wait? What are the best strategies for staying calm, cool, and collected in the lead up to delivery day? And what are the things that most surprised you when finally got behind the wheel of your own Model S?

I'm in the same frame of mind and I still have 3 - 4 weeks left! I did all the thing you did haha. Obsession at it's finest. Question for you, once the car moves from production que to actual production how long does the build actually take?
 
I did all of the reading and video watching that everyone refers to here but that wasn't enough.

I supplemented this with visiting my local showroom weekly for a test drive. This also helped me become more familiar with the people at Tesla (and they with me) and that has helped in the 2.5 years of ownership so far.
 
I've been watching and reading Tesla stuff since 2006... and putting money down for a 3 on March 31, then waiting at least another 18 months to order, then a couple months to actually get one. I'm having a REALLY tough time. Just remember, you only have 48 hours left, instead of 2 years :)

If I could order a Model S today I would. I've already got my NEMA 14-50 ready.
 
I also read all model S things on google. also watched all videos I believe. and watched all elon musk videos. + I read his book as well... AND I haven't even ordered the S yet.. lol. I don't believe there is really anything you can do to lower the excitement.. meditation maybe. do as if there is no Tesla in existence.. lol! I would be going totally crazy if I had to wait just 48 hours.. I would clean the hell out of the garage where the S is gonna sleep and uh. yeah pretty much lose my mind. which all just shows how much we want a Tesla.. good luck on the surviving. don't forget to eat and drink :p

Haha, yup. I cleaned the hell out of my garage on Sunday—you could practically eat off the floor.


Question for you, once the car moves from production que to actual production how long does the build actually take?

I looked back through my emails… here’s the rundown:


  • Feb 7: Order date
  • Feb 8: Assigned a VIN
  • Feb 24: Entered production
  • Mar 2: Website says “built”; delivery specialist notifies me they can schedule delivery for 3/9.
  • Mar 9: Delivery!

So for me it was about a week between “entered production” and “built.” The delivery specialist also said they take one extra week for QA / testing / etc., hence the additional week delay.

All that said—I’ve also heard they move some configurations a little faster than others. Mine is a P90D Ludicrous so I’m guessing it may have been given a little bit of a priority. (I swear I don’t mean for that to be as egotistical it sounds!)


Is your charging station all ready? I've had mine done now for about 6 months . . . 6 more weeks until my delivery!

Well, kinda—sadly I’m stuck with a standard wall outlet since there’s not enough power into my complex (and I’m just renting, so couldn’t yet justify the cost/hassle of dealing with PG&E). My daily mileage is gonna be pretty low (and for longer trips I’m in the Bay Area I can pretty easily swing by a supercharger), so I’m not too worried about it. But who knows, I could be forking out another $5k to wire new power to my building in a few months… ha.
 
It's a lot worse after you get the car, then have to surrender it to the body shop and wait forever for Tesla's incompetent parts department to supply what's needed:
Fender bender in November (car still drivable).
Car to body shop on 2/2 (part body shop backlog and part waiting for Tesla to ship quarter panel)
6 weeks later, car still in body shop, as rivets (need for them discovered after old quarter panel removed and additional damage noted) are back-ordered from Tesla